Tag Archives: doctor-patient communication

Another Review of Critical Decisions

Posted on Monday, May 6, 2013

Here’s a link to a review of Critical Decisions published in a journal called Theoretical Medicine and Bioethics. The reviewer had some nice things to say, but felt it wasn’t theoretical enough for his liking. Not surprising given that I … Continue reading →

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Is It Hazardous to Guess Your Risk of Cancer?

Posted on Friday, April 5, 2013
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXyjVlEKr3E&feature=youtu.be

In this two-minute video, I explained why it can be hazardous to take a guess at what your lifetime risk is of experiencing cancer. I describe a study I conducted with, among others, Angie Fagerlin. This is one of my … Continue reading →

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Hear My Discussion with Joe and Terry Graedon on People’s Pharmacy

Posted on Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Here is a link to a podcast of my recent appearance on People’s Pharmacy, an NPR show that hopefully reaches you where you live.  (If it doesn’t, you should ask your radio station to pick it up. It is a … Continue reading →

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Breast Cancer Hotline Reveals Widespread Communication Problem with Doctors

Posted on Friday, February 1, 2013

I got an email recently from someone who read Critical Decisions, and who said it resonated with her in part because of work she does with a breast cancer hot line. “I’ve been volunteering as a Helpline worker for Living … Continue reading →

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The True Immoral Acts Behind The First “Test Tube Baby”

Posted on Monday, January 28, 2013

The first test tube baby was born July 25th, 1978 in the north of England.  Louise Brown was called the “baby of the century” by some and a “moral abomination” by others.  It wasn’t Brown who critics accused of being … Continue reading →

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Deciding About Breast Cancer Chemotherapy

Posted on Wednesday, January 23, 2013

As if being diagnosed with breast cancer wasn’t bad enough, many women with this diagnosis face complicated decisions about what kind of medicine or chemotherapy to take, if any, to reduce their chance of cancer recurrence.  As I discussed in … Continue reading →

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What Homer Simpson Can Teach Oncologists About Math

Posted on Friday, January 11, 2013

Let’s warm up with a quick arithmetic problem, which I want you to do in your head. What is one thousand plus forty? Now add another thousand And thirty more Plus twenty Plus another thousand And finally, add an additional … Continue reading →

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New Review of Critical Decisions

Posted on Thursday, December 20, 2012

The book Critical Decisions: How You and Your Doctor Can Make the Right Medical Choices Together by Peter A. Ubel, MD effectively makes the case that good medical decisions require empowered patients, clinicians prepared to support them and techniques to help … Continue reading →

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The Way Physicians Break Bad News is Broken

Posted on Wednesday, December 19, 2012

Imagine picking up a telephone and hearing your doctor tell you there is a “999 out of 1,000 chance that you’ll be dead within a decade.”  That’s what Leonard Mlodinow experienced in 1989, when his routine HIV test didn’t turn … Continue reading →

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Me, the Writer’s Manual?

Posted on Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Here is a link to my guest spot on You, The Owner’s Manual radio show, hosted by New York Times best-selling author Dr. Michael Roizen. It is a lively interview, worth listening to if for no other reason than Roizen’s … Continue reading →

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